If you ever become seriously ill or suffer a disability that means you have to take time off work, mortgage protection insurance is scheme that can help you keep your mortgage repayments up to date (and avoid defaulting on your loan). If the worst happened and you died, then the insurance would pay off your mortgage, leaving your family free of the burden.
The premiums (your monthly payments) for Mortgage Protection Insurance are different for everyone as they are calculated based off the size of your mortgage, your income, age, health and the current market price for your home. Your occupation also plays a role in the calculation of your monthly premiums because people who work in high risk roles are more likely to end up with a disability, which their insurance company would have to pay out on.  
The burning question most people have when entering the real estate market is whether or not mortgage protection insurance is really worth it. To help you figure this out for yourself we’ve laid out the pro’s and con’s below:
 
The Benefits of Mortgage Protection Insurance

The key benefit of taking out mortgage protection insurance is the peace of mind that comes with knowing that in the event you passed away or became disabled, the sudden loss of income would not result in your family losing their home.
It’s also significantly easier to get accepted for mortgage protection insurance, than life insurance or disability insurance as age and pre-existing medical conditions are viewed less harshly by insurance companies. If you can’t take out life or disability insurance because you don’t meet the criteria, then mortgage protection insurance is a good way to help make sure that you and your family are looked after.
In an extremely stressful time when your family has lost a loved one or is dealing with a disability and the problems that go with it, do you really want them worrying about how to pay the mortgage?
 
The Drawbacks of Mortgage Protection Insurance

Most policies also come with a maximum pay-out limitation. This means if you lost your job you wouldn’t receive the full amount of lost wages, you would only get a percentage of them (a term you would have agreed to, perhaps without realising it, when signing the policy).  
One of the other drawbacks, is that this insurance is that it provides a declining-benefit policy. Basically your monthly premiums will remain a fixed amount for the life of your mortgage, but with every month that goes by your mortgage is reduced (and the amount the insurance company will need to fork out to pay it off is reduced too).  So at the beginning of the policy the financial benefit lies with you and the insurance company has the higher risk, as time goes by the pendulum swings the other way and the insurance company gains most of the financial benefits.
 
Alternatives to Mortgage Protection Insurance

A full life insurance policy with mortgage and income protection built into it, offers more flexibility and returns than mortgage protection insurance alone. For example in the event of your death, under life insurance the funds would go to your family to use as they wanted to. However with mortgage protection insurance, the funds would bypass your family and go directly to you mortgage provider.
If you happen to have an extremely small mortgage with low repayments then mortgage protection insurance may not be the best route for you. Depending on your circumstances you may find it more beneficial to underwrite yourself and set aside 3-6months worth of salary in the bank or in a low risk investment fund that you could access quickly. If considering whether it’s better to get insurance or underwrite yourself, we strongly recommend talking to a registered or authorised financial advisor to seek a professional opinion.  
 
In Summary
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We recommend taking out a mortgage protection insurance scheme that suits your personal needs, as it’s a small price to pay to not to lose your family home.
There are a range of policies and providers out there and you are in no way forced to take out insurance with the bank that your mortgage sits with. The policies vary from insurance provider to insurance provider and are affected by your individual circumstances, so it’s important to shop around to find a policy that provides the right level of cover at the right monthly price for your needs.
If you’re feeling confused and aren’t confident to do it alone, then talk to a financial advisor and have them present you with options from the various providers along with their recommendations.

If you’re new to property market, then you’ve no doubt seen or heard of registered valuations, capital values and market valuations which are the different kinds of valuations a property can have. If you’re sitting there scratching your head thinking “Do they mean the same thing, are they realistic, which one should I pay more attention to?” Then you’re not alone, but don’t worry we’ll walk you through it all in the article below.
 
Capital Value (CV)
The capital value (CV), is the value your local council or government authority places on your property. Councils use this valuation to determine how much they should charge you in annual rates.
As a result, the CV is also sometimes referred to as a rateable value (RV) or as a government valuation (GV). It’s a basic valuation system that focuses on things like location and size and how similar properties in the area have sold recently as opposed to added value like a recent refurbishment of a building or landscape. Of all the valuations the CV has a tendency to value your property lower than the other systems, as it doesn’t take into consideration the finer details.
Your CV is a snapshot of the value of your property at a specific point in time, and tends to be reviewed every few years. You can find out the CV of your property on most council websites.
 
Registered Valuation
A registered valuation is the value placed on your property after it has been inspected and assessed by a registered valuer. A registered value takes into account the full value of a property and its land based on the size, condition and local market. The more experienced your valuer is with the local market and the industry in general, the more reliable their valuations will be. This registered valuation system is governed by the Valuers Act (1984) and provides the truest representation of what a property is really worth.
You would look at getting a registered valuation made on a property if:

• You wanted to sell your property and needed to know what price to list it at
• You wanted to buy a house and wanted to make sure it was priced fairly
• You were taking out a mortgage and needed the valuation for the application
• You wanted to refinance your mortgage.

 
Registered valuations are extremely important to banks, who take on high risk by lending you the finances to purchase a house. The Valuers Act (1984), provides banks with certainty that any registered valuations done are independent and reflect the true value of a property (and the money a bank could recoup if it needed to sell a property if a client defaulted on their mortgage).
Banks use the registered valuations to calculate how much they are willing to lend. The calculations also incorporate your age, income as well as to a slightly smaller degree the rateable and market values.
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Market Valuation
A market valuation is what buyers in a free and fair market are willing to pay for your property. This valuation for your property will fluctuate as the market ebbs and flows.
This valuation system is affected by a number of factors including supply and demand, interest rates, investor taxes, the economy, zoning laws, school districts and much more.  
It is the reason we have booms and busts. It also explains why you’ll hear crazy stories of properties selling for twice their CV values in Auckland (where demand currently outstrips supply).
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How Can You Work Out the Value of a Property?
Harcourts New Zealand explain it the best on their website when they say: “Rateable value is what you could pay, Registered value is what you should pay and Market price is what you end up paying.”

​In essence take a look at the registered value and then factor in the effect if the free market. How much are similar sized properties in the area selling for? Is the property zoned for any popular schools? Is the area being rezoned for apartments or commercial buildings in the near future? Does the property have street appeal, a nice neighbourhood and easy access to motorways? Are there structural issues that need to be addressed, is it a ‘do up’ or can people move straight in?
Talk to the experts, find a real estate agent in the area that comes highly recommended and see what they recommend. Likewise if your brother-in-law just so happens to be a builder, then ask him to look the property over and give you his professional opinion.